Martha blogs

Martha Stewart, to whom I've been compared by Paul in our PnD blog, started a blog last year and she's really diligent with keeping up with posts, which is sometimes hard to do. I guess it doesn't hurt that she has "blog managers" to help her out! :-)

Martha has built a blog studio, which she keeps intentionally simple to deter distractions. If only all of us could have a separate space for blogging! But maybe the mobility of the laptop bloggers (me included) counts for more, as I can blog whenever I'm around my laptop and come across an interesting bit of bunny-related news or a video that my readers like... Food for thought.

What do you think? Are you a one-place for blogging sort or do you blog wherever you are (with a laptop)?

Bandit's an inside kitty now

On September 8, I brought Bandit to our vet to get her checked out and then brought her inside. No longer is she sleeping in open garages or under our back deck. Now she's got comfy rugs and cushions and toys and windowsills. And, remarkably, my allergies haven't flared up ONCE since she's been in our home. True, I keep her brushed and I wipe her every now and then with these moist kitty wipes to keep her dander at a minimum, but I also smoosh her and cuddle her and hold her and pet her like crazy and I don't react. Could this be a touch of fate, that I got a cat I'm not very allergic to?

To answer your questions preemptively, no, the bunnies have not met her yet. She's such a sweetie, though, that I'm confident she'll be appropriately pushed around by the bunnies. Especially the toughie, SweetPea! You want the predator animals to be below the prey animals on the pecking order in any house. Otherwise, you have a very dangerous situation.

Her name is Bandit not only because she needed a tough girl name outside, but also because she stole my heart. Damn cat. ;-) Thought you'd like some pictures, so here you go:

I maul Bandit (and she loves it!):

She looks like a very big cat here. She's like 9 pounds and actually a very small kitty:

Bandit's closeup:

My beautiful kitty:

Purrrrfectly happy (she hardly ever stops purring):

"I'm a model? Of course I'm a model. I couldn't care less."

Naptime (it's always naptime):

"Hey, whatcha doing? Is it playtime yet?"

"It's my house now!"

Bunny movie by Michael Sormann

We all need a chuckle every now and then. I found this lovely short on YouTube and wanted to share it with you!

This whole thing started off with a bunny who didn't think he needed to become any smarter than he was. I, for one, agree. Enjoy!

Be at peace, Ariel

Okay, I'm ready to share... Last Thursday, August 28, Ariel died in her sleep. Amy, who was bunnysitting while we were in Puerto Rico, was alerted a few weeks ago that this may happen, so it wasn't a surprise.

In February, she had a stroke (probably brought on by progressing e. cuniculi) and has since had limited mobility. She couldn't walk or hop very well, she couldn't binky (her name came about because the day I got her, she just binkied all over the apartment with happiness; arial --> Ariel), she couldn't clean the back half of her body. She's been in really bad shape these past few months, but definitely the past few weeks, spending most of her time lying on her side, as she could only stand up for a few minutes or until she tried to walk too quickly. She still had spunk, but I saw that fading, too (along with her eyesight), the last few days before we left for vacation. I told her before we went that it was ok if she wanted to go, that I loved her and understood, that I only wanted her to stay if she was happy and wanted to.

She's definitely in a much better place now and without pain or stiffness. It's a different house without my beautiful Calendar Girl. I'm glad I got these last 6 months since her stroke to bond with her. She let me get to know her like I never did before, and I'm grateful for that little blessing. She was 7 years and almost 8 months old. She will be missed terribly and loved always. I'm sure Amber found her at the Rainbow Bridge and is hopping and binkying all over with her.

I'm going to look into cremating her body and keeping her with us. I don't want to bury her in our back yard because then we'd have to leave her behind whenever we move. She'd want to be with her mommy, as that was where she felt happiest this year -- wrapped up in a towel and in my arms.

Now you can binky all day long, my little angel girl.